The head of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Sharad Pawar, said on Friday that the ongoing farmers’ protest is likely to be prolonged and intensified if the Center does not make a decision as soon as possible. He said the protest that is currently on the Delhi borders could spread to other parts of the country.
“According to my information, a large number of farmers from different areas have joined the protest today with 700 tractors. With the central government’s position still unclear, the unrest is likely to continue and intensify in the coming days. Furthermore, it is also likely to spread to other parts, as it is currently confined to the Delhi border. I ask the Center not to wait for the farmers to lose their patience and make a decision as soon as possible ”, said the head of the NCP.
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Pawar was speaking to reporters at YB Chavan Center, Nariman Point, in Mumbai.
Holding the Center responsible for the situation, he said: “The opposition parties had told the government not to pass the bills in a hurry, as farmers would act against them. But the government decided to approve each of them in 15 to 20 minutes without having a proper discussion. ”
Pawar, along with other leaders of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), including Rahul Gandhi, met with President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday to ask him to repeal the farm laws to end the farmers’ protest.
Previously, he had also observed a one-day fast in solidarity with the eight Rajya Sabha members of the opposition parties, who were fasting in the Parliament premises against his suspension from the Upper House in September. The Rajya Sabha deputies opposed the agricultural laws.
The Maharashtra BJP unit said that with his stance towards the farmers’ protest, the head of the PNC was exposed as he was the one who had been advocating for these reforms as the Union agriculture minister. “His double face (Sharad Pawar) was exposed to the people when we shared the copy of his letters as Union agriculture minister to the top ministers. The Center has brought the same set of reforms that Pawar advocated since 2005. It is doing protest politics. Farmers and people know this very well, ”said BJP state spokesman Madhav Bhandari.
He also said that some of the reforms have been implemented in Maharashtra in recent years and farmers have reaped their benefits as well.
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